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Left-arm spinner Anukul Roy grabbed five wickets while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also helped himself to a couple of scalps as East Zone demolished North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs to enter the Duleep Trophy semi-finals, here on Tuesday.

The match finished inside two and half days as North East were bowled out for 146 in their second innings after being asked to follow-on post a meagre 111-run total in the first essay. East Zone had posted a mammoth 467 runs in their first innings.

On the third day, all it took was 50 overs in the second innings to wrap up the proceedings. Starting the day at 7 for no loss, North East lost wickets at regular intervals before Pheiroijam Jotin Singh (39) and Akash Choudhary (27) added 39 for the ninth wicket to ensure that the minnows weren't skittled out for less than 100. afnews.co.za

One of the highlights on the third day was skipper Ishan Kishan's glovework as he effected five dismissals -- two stumpings and three catches. India A player Anukul bowled in the right areas and North East batters didn't have any clue about which of his deliveries would turn away or remain on stumps.

His final figures read 15-4-37-5. It was his seventh five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Since the game was under control, Kishan even gave Sooryavanshi a chance to roll his arms and the 15-year-old didn't disappoint his skipper picking up a couple of wickets.

The match ended when Jotin tried to attack Anukul only for Kishan to execute an easy stumping. Shahbaz Ahmed, for his superb all-round show (167 runs and four wickets), was adjudged player of the match.

Brief Scores:
East Zone 467. North East Zone 111 and 146 in 50 overs (P Jotin Singh 39, Anukul Roy 5/37).

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Over the last few days, I have seen several social media posts asking why we are celebrating a bronze medal. The argument is that India were competing at a home World Championship, should have won gold and that celebrating Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand’s bronze is an overreaction.

The same set of people have also castigated India’s hockey teams for their below-par showing at the World Championship and vented their ire on social media.

Make no mistake, the men’s hockey team were well below par. In fact, it was a very poor World Championship for the men, and they absolutely need a reset. Having said that, the women’s effort was far better than expected. It is not all doom and gloom.

Coming to badminton, may I say that I am tired of the refrain that a billion people cannot win a gold medal? In fact, the statement is plain rubbish, to say the least.

Sport is not a way of life in India. It is not ingrained in our culture. Of the 1.4 billion people in the country, the vast majority do not have access to basic sporting facilities. Many struggle to put two square meals on the table, and sport ranks far lower in the pecking order for the average Indian.

To paint all these people with the same brush and compare India with Europe, where a much larger proportion of the population has access to sporting facilities, is a non-starter. It misses the wood for the trees and is, at best, a sensationalist statement made for social media optics.

Take women’s singles in badminton. While the focus is on PV Sindhu not winning a medal, the conversation should also be about how well India is placed to potentially dominate women’s singles in the coming years.

Apart from the incredible An Se-young, there has not been a major breakthrough player in women’s singles over the last half a decade. India, with as many as six players in the top 50, therefore has a major opportunity to make its mark on the sport. Each of these players is expected to gain valuable experience over the next two years and could play a major role in the growth of badminton in India.

The future, as Pullela Gopichand said, is bright as far as women’s badminton is concerned. With half a dozen players in the top 50, we can reasonably expect two or more to emerge as breakthrough success stories.

More importantly, we need to see the macro picture. Simply saying ‘1.4 billion people and no gold medal’ is stale. We are not yet a sporting nation, and to assume that we will become one overnight is foolish. Only recently has sport begun receiving adequate support in the country, and it is essential that the country comes together to back its sportspersons rather than constantly harping on the age-old argument about a billion people and too few medals.

Ask the right questions.

Does the men’s hockey team need an overhaul? Should we experiment more? If India win the Asian Games gold and qualify for the LA Olympics, should the following year be used to bring more youngsters into the team?

Instead of seeking likes and retweets, this is how we can make a difference.

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